Reaction: "Asbolute Hush"

Reaffirming my geekness (and at the same time celebrating the fact I've come in under budget for the last couple of weeks), I ran out once I heard that Diamond Distribution finally shipped the huge hard-bound deluxe volume of Batman "Hush" to local comic book shops to get my own copy.

I hesitated when I finally had it off the shelf in my own hands. After all, a few years ago when the 12 issues were initially released, I'd already collected and read the whole thing. Was it worth the trouble (and the insane pricetag) for such a volume? I'm happy to report: "yes."

Recent years have seen a trend for a resurgeance the literary credibility of comics in general (after the serious crash of the industry in the late 90's; re: Marvel Comics chapter 11 filing). I had a feeling that sooner or later DC would publish a larger collected edition of the runaway success "Hush" story arc that ran from Batman #608 thru #619. When the smaller hardcovers came out as a two-volume set I decided to pass on them. And I'm glad because I had saved myself for the "Absolute" edition.

This new version is the end-all be-all version: each page blown up to a ridiculous 8.5x13inch size in a gorgeous slip-cased hardcover volume. At risk of sounding like a slobbering fan-boy, I've been following Jim Lee's career since nearly the beginning (I was just getting into Marvel when he did the first cover of Punisher War Journal; it was the beautiful Uncanny X-Men #275 when I absolutely went nuts for his art)... or maybe it was the fact that at the time I around 14 or 15 years old, the ripe age for appreciating Jim's knack for sketching idealized female forms. *chuckle*
As for Hush, it features a transcript from a chat-room interview between Jim Lee, the author Jeph Loeb, and a DC editor who's name I forget off the top of my head. It's an interesting glimpse into Jim's head on how the art evolves in relation to the story as a whole. The book also includes all the bonus cross-promotional material that was published in the various versions of the comic and industry magazines (one "interlude" having premiered in Wizard Magazine featuring the first time Catwoman was invited to the Batcave - which the interview thoughtfully mentions that the scene originally was meant to depict Batman and Catwoman consumating their relationship... before which good taste eventually won out and was changed to something a bit more appropriate!). And finally to top it all off, there's also the "annotated" play-by-play written by Jim himself pointing out the various in-jokes and references he had drawn into the individual images. Great stuff for the ultimate fan.

I haven't been this thrilled to be a geek in a long time.